Mangaluru, August 6: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested Umar Farooq M.R., the most wanted accused in the BJP activist Praveen Nettaru murder case, who was absconding, in Kochi, Kerala. With this, the number of accused arrested by the NIA in the case has increased to 25. A Red Corner Notice and a Non-Bailable Arrest Warrant (NBW) were issued against Umar Farooq. A reward of Rs 4 lakh was also announced for his arrest.
Umar Farooq tried to destroy evidence by aiding the accused
According to the NIA investigation, Umar Farooq was facing charges of participating in a conspiracy meeting held at the PFI office. He was also accused of giving a bike to the accused before the murder of Praveen Nettaru. Later, he was also accused of being involved in the attempted murder of a witness.
Accused who was hiding with the help of PFI
It is said that Umar Farooq helped the main accused to escape after the murder and then hid in Kochi, Kerala. It is said that the leaders of the banned PFI organization gave him shelter in Kochi. Investigation revealed that he was kept in an unknown place for the last four years so that he could not be seen by the outside world. It is said that Umar stayed in Kochi after the murder of Praveen Nettaru.
Clues were received from the arrested accused
The NIA had arrested the accused Naushad and Nasir on July 11. It is said that they had given information about an unknown place in Kochi, on the basis of which the NIA conducted an operation and arrested Umar Farooq. Two more accused are absconding in this case and the NIA is continuing its search to trace them.
Background of Praveen Nettaru murder case
Praveen Nettaru (32), a BJP Yuva Morcha activist from Bellare village in Sulya taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, was brutally murdered by assailants on a bike while he was returning home after closing his shop on the night of July 26, 2022. There was intense outrage across the state after the incident. In this backdrop, the Union Home Ministry handed over the investigation of the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in August 2022.
According to the chargesheet filed by the NIA, it is alleged that the leaders of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and its ‘service team’ members had hatched a conspiracy to commit the murder with the intention of creating fear in the society. The NIA has filed chargesheets in the case at several stages, and more than 20 accused have been arrested, including those directly involved in the murder and those who sheltered the accused. The search for the main accused who are absconding is also ongoing.